SAN FRANCISCO, United States: OpenAI on Tuesday unveiled Atlas, an AI-powered web browser built around ChatGPT, marking a direct challenge to Google’s dominant Chrome browser as companies race to embed artificial intelligence into everyday internet tools.
OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman introduced Atlas in a streamed presentation, saying the browser represents a “rare, once-a-decade opportunity to rethink what a browser can be about.”
The company said Atlas launches first on Apple laptops running macOS, with support for Windows, iOS and Android to follow.
AI at the heart of browsing
OpenAI said Atlas integrates ChatGPT deeply into the browsing experience. A flagship capability, described as an “agent mode”, can access a user’s laptop to navigate the web on their behalf — effectively clicking through pages, drawing on the user’s browsing history and explaining its process as it searches. “It’s using the internet for you,” Altman said.
The move comes as more people rely on AI assistants for queries that traditionally began with search engines.
OpenAI has touted ChatGPT’s large user base — more than 800 million users, the company has said — but the firm has also acknowledged heavy running losses and a need to generate revenue.
Strategic challenge to Google
By making itself a gateway to online searches, OpenAI could divert web traffic and associated advertising revenue away from Google, analysts say.
Chrome currently dominates the browser market, with roughly three billion users worldwide, and has been adding AI features powered by Google’s Gemini technology.
OpenAI’s browser arrives months after one of its executives testified that the company might have been interested in buying Chrome if a US judge had ordered the browser sold as part of the Justice Department’s antitrust action.
US District Judge Amit Mehta last month rejected the DOJ remedy that would have required a Chrome sale, noting that rapid advances in AI were already reshaping competition in the sector.
New entrants and competition
Atlas follows a flurry of AI browser launches this year. Perplexity, a smaller AI startup, rolled out its Comet browser earlier and even signalled interest in acquiring Chrome, at one point submitting an unsolicited $34.5 billion offer when a forced sale was mooted.
Opera and other browser makers have also repositioned products with AI features.
OpenAI acknowledged the challenge of dislodging a market leader but likened the moment to 2008, when Google’s Chrome upended an era dominated by Microsoft’s Internet Explorer.
Chrome grew by offering faster page loads and other advantages, a template OpenAI appears to be referencing as it courts users.
Business model and implications
Industry observers say Atlas gives OpenAI a direct line to search behaviour — a valuable asset if the company hopes to monetise services through subscriptions, partnerships or advertising.
OpenAI has been experimenting with premium features in ChatGPT and may use Atlas to expand paid offerings such as the agent mode.
However, experts warn that a browser that acts autonomously on a user’s device raises privacy and security questions.
OpenAI says Atlas will explain its actions and draw on authorised browsing history, but details of safeguards were limited in the initial presentation.
Competitive stakes and regulatory backdrop
The launch comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of big tech and increasing geopolitical concerns about control of key online platforms.
Google has responded to the AI push by rapidly adding generative features across Search and Chrome, while smaller rivals seek niche advantages.
OpenAI’s Atlas will face a steep uphill battle to win users from Chrome’s entrenched base.
